Unilever Europe Workers Push for Magnum-Like Job Protections in McMormick Deal, Memo Shows

Unilever Europe workers push for Magnum-like job protections in McMormick deal, memo shows

Unilever Workers Seek Job Security Amid McCormick Merger

By Richa Naidu

Background on the Merger Talks

LONDON, April 21 (Reuters) - Unilever's European workers are seeking long-term job protections in talks with management over a likely merger of the firm's food business with McCormick, seeking similar terms to those won in the Magnum ice cream spin-off last year.

The Unilever European Works Council (UEWC), which represents some 20,000 Unilever employees in Europe and Britain, met with CEO Fernando Fernandez last week to discuss the merger, according to a memo seen by Reuters and previously unreported.

Consultation Process and Employee Demands

"A formal consultation process will be established, comparable to the procedures used during the ice cream separation and productivity programme," the memo stated, based on the UEWC's conversation with Fernandez.

The UEWC said it was seeking similar long-term security for food employees as it did for those who worked in ice cream who secured a bumper deal to guarantee workers' employment terms in Europe and Britain for at least three years after the listing.

Potential Challenges for Unilever and McCormick

The push highlights a potential challenge and added cost for Unilever and McCormick, which in late March announced a deal to create ​a $65 billion food giant putting Hellmann's mayonnaise, Knorr soup powder and Cholula hot sauce under one roof.

Under European law, companies are required to guarantee workers' employment terms for only one year.

Unilever, which has undergone a series of restructurings including a cost-cutting programme announced in 2024 that saw 7,500 jobs axed, said it was in consultation with its works councils and aimed to minimize uncertainty in the months ahead.

Lack of Information for Non-European Workers

LACK OF INFORMATION FOR NON-EUROPEAN WORKERS

So far only European workers have been offered a formal consultation by Unilever since the McCormick merger was announced, according to the International Union of Food (IUF).

Impact on Emerging Markets and Developing Countries

Emerging markets accounted for 59% of Unilever's total turnover in 2025, and developing countries like India and Nigeria drove underlying sales of Unilever's food business, the company said in its most recent annual report.

"There is a lack of information available at local level and a lot of uncertainty and concern - both for those who may be moving to the new company as well as those who will remain at Unilever," said Sarah Meyer, head of the IUF's international arm for the food processing sector.

The IUF works with more than 30 different international Unilever unions across the world.

Disparity in Employment Terms

During negotiations for Unilever's ice cream business spin-off, non-European workers complained that their employment terms were guaranteed for only one year, compared with three years for European staff.

That prompted coordinated action at some Unilever factories and offices globally, with unions arguing the company placed greater value on European workers than those elsewhere.

(Reporting by Richa Naidu. Editing by Adam Jourdan and Louise Heavens)